Friction draft gear for railway cars



July-'10, 1945. w, vA. GEIGER 2,380,303

FRICTION DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Jan. 28, 1944 Valid/2014. Gezyer tion with the accompanying'drawin which illus- 3O Patented July 10, 194 5 i A. Geiger, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Y t I liam P. Sidley, M. F. Back, Albert P. Withall,

Edwin C..,Austin,.-and GeorgeA. Johnson, all.

I Application January 28,

of Chicago, 111., and Alice T. Miner, Chazy, N. 'Y.,' as trustees ofiThe William H. Miner Founda- [*5 Claims." (cutie-35') This invention relates to improvements in draft gears for railway. cars.

One of the objects of .the invention is t ro-l vide a railway draftgear.embodyingthefriction shock absorbingmechanism especially designed for absorbing the shocks produced by a pulling or draft action applied-to the coupler or drawbar v of a railway car." I

A more specific objectof the'invention is to a provide a draft rigging for railway cars comprising a drawbarand'a friction shock absorbing mechanism especially designed to cushion the pulling shocks transmitted to the drawbar, wherein the friction shock absorbing mechanism includes a tapered friction post, pivotally mounted friction shoes slidabl along said post in frictional engagement therewith, and a spring'resistance' means acting upon said shoe'sto force them into frictional engagement with the post and thereby frictionally oppose the movement of the shoes as the draft or pull is developed in the coupler, and wherein the pull upon the coupler is applied to the shoes through the fulcrums or pivotal mountings of the shoes, thus providing high combined spring and frictional: resistance to provide the desired cushioning. action."

structurehas 'a transverse connecting member 3 which extendsbetween the two sills and has its opposite ends secured'by rivetsor otherwise to saidsill members.v This transverse member 3 serves 'as the front stop of the draft rigging of the carand is provided witha central opening 4 through which the shank of the drawbar extends. The endsill l andthe'transverse stop member 3 are of channel-shaped cross section and are connectedby the top andbottom. plates M which are secured to the top-and bottom flanges of said channel members. 7 v p The drawbar A of the draft rigging has an enlarged head 5 at its outer end, and this head has the usual coupler hook 6- formed thereon.

The shank 80f the drawbar A, which extends from the'head, isof cylindrical cross rearwardly section, that is; in th'e'form of a cylindricalbar 1 or shaft, and carries the usual 'nut 9 whichis Other objects of'niy invention will appear' from p the following description and claims inconnectrates one embodiment of the invention.

Referring to' the accompanying drawing, Fig. '1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the underframe structure of a railway car, at one end thereof, illustrating in connection therewith;

Fig. 2 is an'inner end elevational view on an enlarged scale, of the: structure shown in Fig. 1, the :underframe structure of the car being omitted; i

Fig. 3 is a; vertical sectional view substantially my improvements face of the end sill I to limit the inner movement on the line 33' of Fig. 2, with "certain parts shown in elevation; v

Fig, 4 is a transversesectionalvi'ew on the line 4-4 of Fig.'3; and Figs. 5 and 6 are inner end views of the friction shoes and illustrating the segmental plat-. forms which formseats for the spring resistance Referring more particularly to Fig. l, l indicates the usual end sill of the car underframe structure, and 2 indicates oneof the center sills.

- movable.

threaded on the rear or inner end of the shank.

The drawbar -A is accommodated for lengthwise sliding movementin the aligned openings l0 and 4"in"the end sill member'l and'the' transverse connecting member 3,1respectively, The head 5 of the drawbar is reduced in-size at the endwhere it joins the shank 8', thereby providing. top and bottom shoulders ll adapted to engage the front of the'drawbar.

improvements, as shown in the-drawing, comprise in generala central friction post B, .friction shoes C, a fulcrumbearing D for the shoesjand a spring resistance means,E,through all of which members the shank 8 of the drawbar extends. i q The shock absorbing unit includesthe central friction post B which is hexagonal-in section and has "a longitudinal bore I2 through which-the drawbar shank extends andin which it is freely The post has, at its outer end, a lateral flange l3 which is preferably circular inshape and which is seated against 'the transverse, stop member 3- of the frame. ,The adiacenttwo faces M .on opposite sides of the" post provide friction faces in ,V-shaped or angular relation, and the post is tapered rearwardly so'th'at these friction faces are accordingly tapered. These tapered friction faces are adapted to be frictionallyengag'edby' the longitudinally movable shoes C The usual car underframestructure comprises two spaced center sills 2 which are fixedat their front ends to the end sill l, and extend rearwardlyor-inwardly ofthe end sill. The 'underframe which are disposed on opposite'sides ofthe post and are provided with friction faces/15in ;-V-'- shaped or angular relation so as to becomplementary to the friction faces Mof-the' post.

Each friction shoe has associated with it a see:

mental'shaped flange or platform member-l5 The arms I! are extended laterally so that the platform of each shoe is disposed on the opposite side of the post to that on which the shoe is disposed. As shown more clearly in Figs. 5 and 6, the arms I! of the one shoe are spaced apart farther than those of the other shoe. Each of the arms I! of both shoes have rounded lugs l8' projecting beyond the plane of the under face of the platform members and allarranged in transverse alignment. These fulcrum lugs are seated in the channels IQ of the bearing plate D to provide pivots or fulcrums for the shoes, whereby the shoes can swing toward and from the friction post. The bearing plate D has a central opening through which the drawbar shank extends and is seated against th nut 9 on the shank, whereby the draft or pull upon the drawbar is applied to the shoes through this bearing plate and the fulcrums of the shoes.

The spring resistance in the present structure is comprised of outer and inner coil springs 2| and 22 concentrically. arranged, and positioned between the flange 13 of the post and the segmental platforms or members [6 of the shoes. The inner spring 22 is relatively lighter than the outer coil 2!, but the ends of both springs bear against the flange l3 and segments IS.

The assembly of the structure is a very simple matter. After the shank of the drawbar is inserted through the end sill l and the transverse plate 3 until the shoulders I I engage the end sill, the central friction post B is inserted over the endof the shank until the flange I3 bears against the transverse stop 3. After the inner and outer spring coils are centered around the post, the shoes are inserted through the endsof the springs until the shoes engage the friction post, the bearing member D is put in place on the shank and against the fulcrum lugs of the shoes, and the nut 9 is threaded onto the shank and is drawn up sufficiently to place the springs under an initial compression. A cotter pin 23 is inserted through a suitable hole in the end of the drawbar shank to prevent the accidental displacement of the nut.

In operation it will be seen that a draft shock or pull on the drawbar is applied through the nut 9 to the bearing plate D and thence through the fulcrums of the shoes to the segmental platforms IE to the springs which cushion the shock. In addition, the pressure of the springs on the platforms swings the shoes into tight frictional engagement with the tapered friction post. Thus the highshock absorbing capacity, both of the springs and the snubbing action of the friction shoes, is attained. When the actuating force is reduced, the springs restore all of the parts to normal position, the inward movement of the drawbar being positively limited by the stops I l.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying.out the invention. It will be understood that changes may be made in the construction, operation and arrangement of the various parts, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is' understood that I contemplate such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims. I claim:

1. In a railway draft rigging for a railway car having afront stop, the combination of a tapered friction post bearing against said front stop, a pair of pivoted shoes frictionally engaging said post and movable lengthwise thereof, seat members connected with said shoes, spring resistance means interposed between said front stop and said seat members, a pivot bearing member for said shoes, and a drawbar extending longitudinally through said post, springs and pivoted shoe members and connected to said bearing member for transmitting the pull of the drawbar to the pivots of said shoes.

2. In a railway draft rigging for a railway car having a front stop, va coupler having a drawbar shank extending lengthwise of the car, and shock absorbing mechanism interposed between the drawbar and the front stop comprising a hollow, tapered post through which said drawbar shank extends, having a flanged outer end bearing against said front stop, said post having tapered frictional surfaces on its exterior, a fulcrum bearing member carried by the shank, a pair of friction shoes engaging the friction faces of the post and movable lengthwise thereof, said shoes being fulcrumed on said bearing member and having laterally extending members forming spring seats, and coil spring means interposed between said post flange and said seats.

3. In a railway draft rigging for a railway car having a front end sill and a front stop spaced inwardly therefrom, a coupler drawbar slidably mounted in said end sill and front stop, and extending inwardly beyond said front stop, a tapered friction post having a flange at its outer end bearing against said front stop and having a longitudinal bore through which the drawbar extends, a pair of friction shoes longitudinally movable with respect to the post and disposed on opposite sides of the post and having friction surfaces engaging the post, a bearing member on said drawbar adapted to be moved thereby upon a draft pull on said drawbar, fulcrum members for said shoes bearing against said bearing member, lateral extensions for said shoes, and a pair of concentrically arranged coil springs enclosing said post and friction shoes, and bearing upon said post flange and said extensions.

4. In a railway draft rigging for a railway car, the combination of an'end sill, a drawbar slidably mountedin said end sill, having coupling means at its forward end and adapted to be subjected to draft shocks, a stop member in the frame structure of the car through which said drawbar extends, a hollow post through which the drawbar extends lengthwise beyond the rear end thereof, a head on said post bearing against said stop member, said post being eXteriorly tapered and hexagonal in cross section to provide pairs of angularly related frictional surfaces on opposite sides thereof, a pair of shoes movable lengthwise of said post and having angularly related friction surfaces in frictional engagement with the surfaces of said post, a bearing member on said drawbar, means forming fulcrums for said shoe on said bearing member disposed in transverse alignment, coil spring resistance means surrounding the post and shoes and bearing at its front end against said head, and arms on said shoe bearing against the other end of said spring resistance means to force the shoes against the post and frictionally resist the lengthwise movement of the shoes in response to the pull on the drawbar.

5. In a railway draft rigging for a railway car, the combination of an end sill, a drawbar slidably mounted in said end sill, having coupling means at its forward end and adapted to be subjected to draft shocks, a stop member in the frame structure of the car through which said drawbar extends, a hollow post through which the drawbar extends lengthwise beyond the rear end thereof, a head on said post bearing against said stop member, said post being exteriorly tapered and hexagonal in cross section to provide pairs of angularly related frictional surfaces on opposite sides thereof, a, pair of shoes movable lengthwise of said post and having angularly'related friction surfaces in frictional engagement with the surfaces of said post, ,a bearing member on said drawbar, means forming fulcrums for said shoes seated on said bearing member and dis 3 posed in transverse alignment in the longitudinal axis of said post, concentrically disposed coil springs surrounding the post and shoes and bearing at their front ends against said head, and

segmental-shaped platform members connected with the shoes and disposed at the side of the post opposite that of the shoes with which they are connected, said platform members bearing against the other ends of said springs and adapted upon the pull of the drawbar to force the shoes against the post to resist the lengthwise movement of the shoes.

WILLIAM A. GEIGER. 

